QUINCY, Mass. – The Wildcats wanted to make the most of their opportunities over the final two games on Saturday in the Lahue Physical Education Center. The team told themselves that one game wouldn't make or break their tournament and wanted to leave Massachusetts on a high note.
 
In the morning matchup, Linfield came out on top of Western New England in five sets but couldn't overcome host school Eastern Nazarene later in the afternoon which also went to all five sets.
 
Match 1
The Wildcats earned their first win of the season over Western New England 25-17, 24-26, 25-16, 23-25, 15-9. Consistency on offense was the theme in the first match for Linfield. The 'Cats totaled 68 kills, 20 more than the Golden Bears, and took a step up in hitting percentage finishing the contest at .263. Linfield also led in digs with 84 and 12 total serving aces.
 
Five individuals accounted for 10 or more kills with Ryli Kalahiki leading the way with 16 and Lexi Correa finishing behind with 12. Claire Johnson had a career-best game with 53 assists. Nora Myre and Araeya Watanabe (named to ENC Invitational All-tournament team) led the defense with 22 and 21 digs respectively.
 
While the Wildcats were strong on offense, the Golden Bears still took two sets behind big efforts from Alissa Hawes and Isabelle Petty who combined for half of the Western New England total kills.
 
Match 2
The Wildcats finished with 53 kills, 69 digs, seven blocks and five aces against Eastern Nazarene but came up just short of the win  25-21, 18-25, 10-25, 25-16, 15-12.
 
Freshman Katelin Sindelar stepped up in the second match leading the Wildcats with 14 kills and finishing with a .464 hitting percentage. Watanabe was close behind with 11 kills and chipped in 12 digs. Johnson turned in another strong performance with 42 assists.
 
Eastern Nazarene's Andrea Aceituno had a monster performance at the net, amassing a game-high 20 kills and adding 12 digs. Eliana Baran and Maria Clarabuch finished with 12 and 11 kills respectively for the Lions.
 
NEXT
The 'Cats open Oregon Trail Classic play with Loras and Wells College on Friday, Sept. 8. Then, Linfield returns to Ted Wilson Gymnasium to play McMurray and West Coast Baptist on Sept. 9. Before opening Northwest Conference play at Puget Sound Sept. 15.
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